Riverbanks
by Phoenix Tears Of A Riddle
Summary: Ooh, please don't break these riverbanks/Ooh, but just open your eyes, something beautiful is happening/ 'If I had set out on my own, I would have been lost. But if I'm with you, I would know you would find me every time. With you, I feel safe.' Daryl/OC - Rating: A high T because of nondetailed sexual scenes and language. Based on the last episode of season one!


**Hey guys! So I've just been introduced into the world of 'Walking Dead' and it's fantastic! :D I finished season 1 on Thursday and as all you Walking Dead fans know, 'TS-19' is the final episode. Well this little idea just wouldn't go away after watching that episode so I decided to write a one shot on it! :D The title is the name of a song by Charlie Simpson (Yes! _That _Charlie Simpson! The one from Busted!) and you guys should check it out! Maybe even listen to it while reading this! :) The link to the song is on my profile in the link section for my stories and there's also a picture of the character Lucy there too! And one of Daryl just because he's hot! XD ** **For those of you who are wondering, the next chapter of TTCWGA will be out within the next week! I know it's been about a fortnight since I last updated it but i got the dreaded writer's block and I'm hoping this little one shot will help me shift it! ****So I hope you guys enjoy this! ~ Phoebe x**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Walking Dead! I'm only using them to write this one shot! I promise to give them back at the end! :3 The only character I do own is Lucy! :D I also don't own the song 'Riverbanks' by Charlie Simpson! That belongs to... well... Charlie Simpson!**

Lucy sat in one of the chairs in the large room, spinning round slowly as she waited for Dr. Jenner to get back, watching the screen that showed the camera footage. Her eyes flicked over the group outside, her eyes lingering on the children that was with them. She was glad she had convinced Jenner to let them in. She didn't know what she would do if she had to watch innocent kids be torn apart by the walkers.

Lucy heard talking and stopped spinning, getting to her feet and listening closely. Jenner had ordered her to stay away for a while so he could figure out if the group were infected or not but Lucy had never been one to follow the rules.

"Where's the rest of the staff?" A deep voice asks, sounding like the man that had been shouting at the camera just minutes ago.

"I'm all that's left." Jenner replied as he led them into the room. "Vi, bring the lights up in the big room!"

Lucy grinned cheekily as the lights turned on, revealing her in the middle of the room. "Oh and there's me too! Welcome to Zone 5!"

"Lucy!" Jenner growled, stalking towards her. "I told you to stay away while I checked them for bites and infection!"

Lucy held her hands up innocently, "Jenner look at them for Christ's sake! They're all perfectly harmless! Well, I don't know... those kids could be classed as dangerous because of how dangerously cute they are! Oh and the big one is just like a teddy bear, aren't you mate?"

The group glanced between Jenner and Lucy amusedly and the big guy sputtered in shock.

"What?! I am _not _a teddy bear, sweetheart!" He snarled, his crossbow rising slightly.

"Yeah, yeah." Lucy waved the man off before turning to the rest of the group. "So what are your names?"

Lucy went round the entire group, learning their names, leaving the big guy until last. She stopped in front of him and stared up at him, eyebrow raised.

"So what's your name?" Lucy asked, smirking. "I'm Lucy if you haven't realised by now."

"Daryl." The man grunted, taking the hand she offered and shaking it firmly once. He glanced at her and hesitantly asked, "You haven't met a man with one hand recently have you? Goes by the name Merle?"

Lucy shook her head, "Sorry mate. Jenner doesn't like to leave the underground much and refuses to let me leave at all so you lot are the first people I've seen from outside since we holed up in here when the walkers started to attack the building."

"Was worth a try." Daryl muttered before moving away. Lucy moved back next to Jenner, grinning at the room's occupants.

"If you go with Jenner, he'll take your blood. I'll go find some food. Sound good?" Lucy asked, grinning again when the group nodded eagerly.

"We haven't eaten in _days." _Sophia mumbled to the little boy, Carl, happily as they left the room with Jenner. Lucy walked into the kitchen, pulling out a bag of pasta and some pasta sauce. She poured the entire bag of pasta into a large saucepan of boiling water, leaving it to bubble away. She chopped up some peppers and mushrooms, adding them to a large pan full of meatballs that were sizzling away loudly.

"Need any help?"

Lucy spun round to see three of the four women that were with the group. Andrea was absent but Lucy didn't worry about it. She was perfectly safe in here. It was Lori that had spoken and who was stood slightly in front.

"Sure!" Lucy smiled, beckoning them in. "I hope you guys like pasta."

As the four women cooked, they swapped stories about their lives and how they had changed since the Apocalypse had begun. Lucy winced as the other three explained what had happened just 2 days ago at their old camp, feeling sorry for Carol and Andrea since they had lost their husband and sister respectively. They cooked in silence for a few more minutes before Lucy spoke up again.

"Who's Merle?" She asked as she drained the pasta. "Daryl asked me if I had met a one handed man called Merle recently."

"Merle is Daryl's brother. He was being a jackass and threatening to kill T-Dog so Rick handcuffed him to a pipe on a roof of a building. T-Dog lost the key to the cuffs so they had to leave Merle and come back to camp. When Daryl got back from hunting and found out, he set off back to the city to rescue his brother and T-Dog, Glenn and Rick went with him. They got there to find Merle gone and just his hand on the roof. He had cut his hand off to escape." Carol explained, taking the bread she had made out of the oven. "God this smells good!"

Lucy winced again before shaking her head, "No wonder Daryl's in such a bad mood."

"No that's Daryl on a good day." Lori smiled slightly as she stirred the sauce into the meatballs, peppers and mushrooms, her eyes sparkling with laughter. "He tries to act all hard and tough but really he has a heart made of gold. He never lets anything happen to Sophia or Carl and he's always willing to risk his life for them and his brother."

"Sounds like Jenner." Lucy admitted, "He doesn't like to show his feeling or emotions much and he tries to keep me shut up in here a lot but you know he's only doing it to keep me safe. It pisses him off that I don't follow his rules and go up top a lot."

"Yet you still do it!" Jenner spoke as he entered the kitchen, frowning, but he smiled as he smelled the food. "This smells amazing ladies! Need me to do anything, Luce?"

"You can set the table and find some bottles of wine or any kind of alcohol. We're celebrating tonight with our new friends!" Lucy told Jenner firmly, slapping his hand when he went to steal a slice of bread. "Piss off Jenner."

"Yes ma'am!" Jenner saluted mockingly before walking off. A moment after he left the room, Shane and Daryl entered.

"Man that smells good!" Shane groaned happily, "Is it ready?"

"Yes. Since you two are here, you can carry it in to the canteen." Lucy told them, handing Shane the bowl of bread and a dish of butter for the bread. She handed Daryl the large pan of pasta which she had mixed with the meatballs and sauce. "If I see you two eating anything on the way, I'll whack you round the head."

The two nodded so Lucy picked up the plates and led the group into the canteen, glancing back occasionally to make sure the men weren't eating anything. She set the plates out where Jenner had set the table with cutlery and glasses before letting Shane and Daryl put the food in the middle of the table.

* * *

"This is good wine!" Lori exclaimed, lifting her glass of red wine as she finished off her food.

"And that was good food!" T-Dog added on, grinning. "Man I haven't ate this much in months!"

"Compliments to the cooks." Rick said cheerfully, raising his glass to Lucy, Lori, Carol and Jacqui.

"You know... In France and Italy, children are allowed to have wine with their food." Dale commented, winking at Carl.

"Well if Carl ever goes to Italy or France, he will be allowed to drink all the wine he likes. Until then, no." Lori stated firmly, shaking her head.

"Aw come on mom!" Carl groaned, staring at his mother with wide eyes.

Rick chuckled at his son's whine before taking the bottle from Dale and pouring a little bit into Carl's cup and passing it to him, saying, "It's the end of the world. If there's ever a time for my son to try wine, it's now."

"Aren't you meant to be a cop?" Lucy asked, laughing at his words.

Rick shrugged before turning back to Carl. Everyone quietened down as Carl took a sip, swallowing eagerly.

"Ugh! Yuck!"

Everyone laughed loudly as Carl pushed his cup towards his mom, wiping his mouth with a disgusted expression. Lori took the cup and poured the wine into her own glass, grinning.

"Kid, you have good taste if you don't like wine." Lucy lifted the bottle of whiskey in her hand in salute, smirking. "I've never liked it myself either. Always stuck to good old whiskey or bourbon."

"You've got good taste in alcohol for a little girl. How old are you anyway?" Daryl asked, smirking at her. "What are you... 18?"

Lucy got to her feet, albeit a little drunkenly, and glared at the man who had spoken, "I'm 21 for your information! And like Rick said! It's the end of the world! Who gives a fuck about age anymore?! Now if you've got anything else to say, please share it with the whole class!"

Daryl scowled at her for a moment, while the rest of his group held their breath, before he threw his head back and laughed, making everyone but Lucy jump. He gestured to her with his own bottle of liquor, "I like you, darlin'. You got fire in ya, which is what you need to survive these days."

After a few more minutes of drinking and eating, Rick lifted his glass to Lucy and Jenner, "I would like to thank our hosts for letting us stay and for their hospitality."

"Aw shucks! You're making me blush!" Lucy cried mockingly, finishing off her bottle of whiskey in a few gulps.

"Luce." Jenner warned before nodding to Rick, "You're welcome. It's been a little lonely around here. It's nice to have company."

"Oi!" Lucy sat up straight from where she had just collapsed next to Daryl, finding him the most entertaining of the group, sounding indignant. "What do you call me then if I'm not company?!"

"My little sister." Jenner replied dryly, rolling his eyes slightly. "You're family. I _have _to put up with you."

"You're related?" Glenn asked, lowering his bottle from his lips. "You don't_ look _related."

"I know! I know! I mean, I'm absolutely gorgeous and he cracks the mirror every time he looks in it!" Lucy stage whispered to Glenn, winking.

"We're half siblings." Jenner explained, shooting Lucy a dirty look. "We've got the same father."

"We didn't know about each other until about five years ago though." Lucy muttered, scowling. "Our father was married and settled with Jenner's mom until Jenner was born then a few days later, he ran away like the coward he was after forcing Jenner's mom to sign divorce papers. He ran away to good old England where he found my mom and decided to marry her instead. Of course, once I was born he did the exact same thing as before and ran away. I found Jenner after mom let slip that dear old daddy used be married with a kid in the USA. I left home when I was sixteen, my mom and I had never got on well anyway, and got on a plane to here where I just walked up to the building and demanded to see Jenner. He came walking to towards me; hand out ready to introduce himself-"

"And this tiny, but loud, redhead just blurts out 'Nice to meet you Edwin Jenner. I'm Lucy Jenner, your half sister. Mind if I just call you Jenner? It sounds cooler than Edwin.' I nearly collapsed with shock." Jenner chuckled as he cut his sister off, smiling at Lucy. "Of course I demanded a blood test to check whether she was telling the truth. Once I realised that she _was _telling the truth, I let her stay here for a few days while she found herself somewhere to live but after a week or so it was just nonverbally agreed that Lucy would just live here. She was so interested in our experiments and was a straight A student in nearly everything so she started an internship here and after a year or two it was like she had always been here. She's the youngest researcher we've ever had."

"Christ and here I was, thinking you two were together!" Daryl admitted, rubbing his neck.

"Nope!" Lucy giggled, grabbing the bottle of liquor from Daryl's grip while he was distracted. "Thanks!"

"Speaking of researchers, where is the rest of the staff? What's going on around here, doc?" Shane asked, taking a swig of his alcohol.

"Not now Shane." Rick warned, nudging his friend in the ribs. "Jenner's been nice enough to let us stay."

"No. I wanna know." Shane insisted, pushing Rick's arm away.

"They left. They ran away." Jenner admitted quietly, turning the ring on his finger slowly. "Those who didn't want to risk being infected but didn't want to just stay in here for the rest of their lives... they took the easy way out."

"They committed suicide." Lucy stated bluntly, making Jenner wince. She shrugged unapologetically. "What? It's the truth."

"Not all of them did, Luce!" Jenner rasped sharply. "You know that. Some stayed and tried to find a cure... They sacrificed themselves so that we could _learn _and fix everything!"

"I miss her too Jenner!" Lucy snapped, shooting to her feet suddenly. "Don't you dare act like you're the only one still hurting because you're not! She was my _best friend _for Christ's sake! I know the sacrifices that had to be made!"

Lucy snatched up a few bottles of liquor from the table before storming out the room, ignoring her brother's shouts. She made it to her room with no interruptions but she could hear her brother telling everyone where everything was and to not waste the electricity. Lucy hoped they took him seriously since it would only decrease the amount of time left before the generators ran out.

Lucy put the bottles of alcohol down on her desk before turning her music on, turning the volume up until her ears were pounding with the sound of the bass playing. Jenner knew not to disturb her when her music was on loud. It was her sign that she didn't want to talk to him. For most people it would be having their door shut but Lucy hadn't shut her door since the walkers first appeared in case she missed anything important.

As the music pounded out of the speakers, Lucy picked up a bottle of whiskey and took a few swigs. One hand gripped the bottle, which she raised in the air, and the other rested in her vibrant red hair as she swayed and moved to the music with her eyes closed. Occasionally she would lower the bottle so she could take a sip of the liquor in it.

Suddenly, the bottle was snatched from Lucy's hands. Lucy stopped moving and her eyes flew open, letting her see again. Daryl was leaning against her doorframe, bare-chested, with a smirk on his face and her bottle in his grip. His hair was slightly damp at the ends, making Lucy realise Daryl had just had a shower. Lucy had to admit that the jeans Daryl wore fit him well, showing off just how muscled his lower half was.

Lucy and Daryl stared at each other for a moment before Daryl's smirk increased as he lifted Lucy's bottle to his lips, taking a gulp of the liquor, and lowered it again.

"Keep dancing." Daryl stated, cocking his head to the side slightly. "I was enjoying the show."

Lucy raised her eyebrow briefly before a smirk of her own appeared. She turned back around and resumed dancing, making sure to move her hips just a _little_ bit more. She heard Daryl's breathing hitch more than once as she danced for him, which made her smile. She was having an effect on him.

Once the song ended, Lucy turned back to Daryl with a questioning look on her face, "That good enough for you? Can I have my drink back now?"

Daryl stared at her in shock before stalking towards her, his eyes dark, and pulling her close by her waist. He stared down at her in silence.

"Are you gonna stand there and just look at me? Or are you gonna fucking kiss me?" Lucy asked, breathless, as she dragged her nails down Daryl's bare, muscled chest.

Daryl moaned quietly before saying, "I shouldn't be doing this. You're nearly ten years younger than me. It's not right. It's breaking rules!"

Lucy pulled Daryl closer and pulled his head down so she could whisper in his ear, "Didn't anyone tell you, mate? It's the end of the world. No one follows the rules anymore. Please. Just do this. Please. For me."

Daryl pulled his head away to stare down at her when her tone turned to begging and pleading at the end, sounding almost frightened and desperate, before nodding slowly and crushing her to his chest as his lips smashed against hers.

There was urgency to their actions as they stumbled towards the bed, Daryl kicking the door closed with his foot, while pulling at each other's clothes. Like Lucy had said, it was the end of the world. Neither knew if they were going to survive to see the end of the week. Lucy _definitely _knew she wouldn't survive to see the end of the week thanks to the decontamination that would occur the next day.

As the two of them clutched at each other as they had sex, Lucy let the feelings and emotions wash over her. She knew this was the last night she had to be herself and _dammit _she was going to make the most of it. As Lucy fell over the edge, crying out Daryl's name, she felt the dam break. She cried as Daryl fell over the edge too, growling out a swear word along with her name, before letting the blonde haired man pull her close and wrap her up in a strong, protective embrace.

They lay in silence for a little while until Lucy broke it.

"Let me leave with you."

Lucy lifted her head off his chest to stare at him, her eyes imploring, as he asked faintly, "What?"

"When you leave here, and you will because Rick's already said he doesn't want to stay here longer than necessary, let me come with you. Everyone gets on with me, I know a lot about the walkers and I make a mean meal of pasta with meatballs."

Daryl chuckled at the last part of Lucy's explanation before frowning and asking, "What about your brother? Jenner?"

Lucy bit her lip before admitting, "I love him but he believes that I should just stay out the way and just wait for it all to end. That's not me. It never has been. He lost someone close to him, to both of us, and since then he's been overprotective to the point of insanity. He believes that we should just stay in here until we die or all the walkers die. We haven't got much longer until all the generators fail so it'll be us dying first, not the walkers. He said he'd never open those doors again until every single walker was dead. But he let you lot in. He'll have to let you out at some point and when he does, I'll escape and come with you."

"Why now?" Daryl asked, frowning still. "You could have gone when he let us in. You could have run past him then."

Lucy looked down for a moment before admitting, "Because I would have been alone. If I had set out on my own, I would have been lost. But if I'm with you, I would know you would find me every time. With you, I feel safe. I know we only met a few hours ago but I like you Daryl. I know you probably only think of me as a quick shag, and I admit that the sex is fantastic, but I like to think that if we got to know each other that we would make a pretty fucking awesome couple."

Daryl stayed silent for a while so Lucy made to get out of bed. Before she got too far though, Daryl pulled her back and pressed his lips to hers heatedly before replying, "I don't think of you as just a shag, Lucy. You're hilarious, strong spirited and not afraid to take me on. None of the others like to meet my eye for long, apart from maybe Lori and Rick, but earlier you stood there and shouted at me while looking me dead in the eye and challenged me to retaliate. When you danced for me earlier, I was shocked that you had enough nerve to do that. I was expecting a slap or you to scream at me at the very least. But you just smirked and danced. You're feisty and full of life, not to mention gorgeous, and just the right woman to keep me on my toes but also keep me in line. I think we'd make a pretty fucking awesome couple too."

"So is that a yes?" Lucy asked, almost shyly, as she hid behind her short hair.

Daryl chuckled lowly, pushing her hair out of the way, before kissing her forehead, "It's a yes, woman. You can come with us. Screw what the others say."

* * *

"I'm glad I'm not the only one with a hangover this morning!" Lucy exclaimed as she walked into the canteen with Daryl the next morning, trying to ignore the pounding in her temple.

"Sh!" Glenn groaned, covering his ears. T-Dog put eggs in front of him but Glenn just groaned again and whimpered, "I'm never drinking again!"

"Ah, you'll be ok kid." Daryl told him, smirking, from where he stood behind Lucy. He was still clutching a bottle of liquor in his hand.

Lucy took the bottle from him and put it away, saying, "I think we all had enough alcohol last night, Dixon. Get some food and I'll get some aspirin from our stock."

"No need!" Rick shook the container he held, making Glenn groan again, before passing it to Lucy. "Your brother gave us some."

"Good ol' Jenner!" Lucy mumbled gratefully, swallowing two pills with some coffee. She passed the container to Daryl, watching as he swallowed the pills dutifully. She patted him on the ass lightly. "Good boy."

Jenner entered the room at that moment so Lucy quietened down, listening as Dale started to question her brother. Andrea butted in with a sharp, "We didn't come here for the eggs."

Jenner glanced at Lucy who spoke softly, "You have to show them Jenner. Show them the video."

Jenner swallowed heavily before nodding and gesturing to the door, "Follow me." He set off and Lucy left Daryl's side to loop her arm through her brother's, who smiled sadly at her. The group walked in silence to the control centre.

"Vi, display the brain scans from Test-Subject 19." Lucy told the computer as the group assembled in the middle of the room, staring at the computer screen.

"The ultra-secret, though worthless, video shows someone who was infected and allowed the process to be recorded by the CDC." Jenner explained quietly, squeezing Lucy's hand tightly.

Lucy watched with the rest of the group as synapses alighted throughout the brain. "Experience, memories. Somewhere in all that organic wiring is you. The thing that makes you unique and human," Jenner explained. The display showed the virus attacking the brain - the "first event." The brain went dark; the body died. "Everything you were or ever will be - gone," Jenner said.

"Is that what happened to Jim?" Sophia wondered innocently, and Carol nodded. Andrea looked beaten, and Lori explained to Jenner that her sister died two days before. Jenner approached Andrea. Lucy nearly held Jenner back, knowing how tactless her brother could be, but she let him continue out of curiosity.

"I lost somebody, too. I know how devastating it is," he said before he fast-forwarded to the second event.

The resurrection.

"It restarts the brain?" Lori asked, frowning.

"Just the brain-stem," Lucy corrected, tears appearing in her eyes. "The human part - the _you_ part - that doesn't come back." A bullet flew through TS-19's head in the video playback and Lucy let out a quiet sob. Daryl moved to her side and wrapped an arm round her shoulder, pulling her in to his chest so she could hide her face. Lucy wiped her face on Daryl's shirt before pulling away, smiling thankfully at him.

Jenner admitted they didn't know what the disease was or how to treat it, and that he and Lucy had lost contact with other research facilities. "I've been in the dark for almost a month," he admitted.

"There's nothing left anywhere. That's what you're really saying, right?" Andrea accused him. Dale interrupted the stunned silence after the question to ask Jenner about a clock on the far wall, which was counting down from an hour.

"When the time runs out, so do the basement generators." Lucy answered for her brother who had turned away.

"What happens then?" Shane asked, glancing around uneasily, but Lucy just hid her face in Daryl's chest again.

"Vi, what happens when the basement generators run out?" Rick asked the computer who explained about the plant-wide decontamination.

"De-contamination?" Daryl asked, his deep voice making his chest rumble under Lucy's ear, "What does that mean, Luce?"

"It means we need to get out of here or get more power!" Lucy told them all, letting go of Daryl's hand which she had been clutching.

"Alright, let's go check the basement generators. Shane, T-Dog, Glenn. You three come with me to check them." Rick ordered, picking up his gun and his flashlight. "Everyone else. Go to your rooms. Just sit tight."

"Alrighty then. I'm going to get piss-drunk again!" Daryl grumbled, snatching up a bottle of liquor which had been left on the side in the control centre. Everyone left, including Jenner, leaving just Lucy and Daryl in the room. He took a swig of the drink before Lucy caught it and threw it into a trash bin, making Daryl scowl. "If this is gonna work between us, you need to learn not to get in between me and my drink, woman!"

Lucy rolled her eyes before pulling Daryl down roughly for a heated and desperate kiss, tugging at the ends of his hair with her fingers as his hands pulled her closer harshly by her waist. Once they broke apart, both breathing heavily, Daryl chuckled.

"Well, if that's what's gonna happen every time you take my drink away from me I think I could handle it!" He muttered, kissing her neck lazily.

"Rick?! Daryl?!"

Lucy and Daryl jumped apart at Lori's call and ran to meet the worried mother, who was pulling Carl along. The rest of the group, minus the three who had gone down to the basement and Jenner, stood behind them.

"Daryl, our air's been cut off in our rooms!" Lori explained, biting her lip.

"Luce, what the hell is going on?" Daryl asked, turning to Lucy.

"I-I don't know!" Lucy cried, tears appearing again. "Jenner's always saying that once the clock reaches zero that it'll all be over and he and I will be at peace. I always thought he meant that if the world hadn't been sorted by the time the clock ended then we'd commit suicide too. I've always told myself that I would wait until Jenner's done it then leave this place to try and live out the rest of my days. But now Vi's said about de-contamination... the only way to do that is- Holy crap!"

Lucy's exclamation at the end made the whole group jump. She grabbed Daryl's hand and tugged him along, "We need to find Jenner! Now!"

The group ran towards Jenner's office but they met him in the control room.

"Jenner! What's going on? The building's-"

"Shutting down." Jenner finished for Lucy, nodding calmly. Rick, Shane, Glenn, and T-Dog returned from the basement, asking about the power shortage, and Jenner said, "The system is designed to keep the computers running until the last possible second."

"It was the French," Jenner continued, "They stuck it out the longest before they too ran out of power. The building will decontaminate in thirty minutes, and it's too late to stop it without any fuel. We're all going to die but it will be quick."

Rick yelled at the group to grab their things and run as the emergency alarms started blaring but Jenner locked them inside the control centre. "There's no point struggling. Everything topside is automatically locked down." Jenner explained.

"Let us out of here Jenner!" Rick demanded, fists clenched. "I don't want my wife and son dying in here!"

"There's no point trying that." Lucy said grimly as Daryl grabbed an axe and tried to make a dent in the door, Shane joining in moments later. "That door's built to withstand a rocket launcher."

"When that door closes, it wouldn't open again – you heard me say that." Jenner pointed out calmly, shrugging. "It's better this way."

"HOW?!" Lucy suddenly screamed, making everyone jump, glaring at her brother with disgust. "There are children in here for Christ's sake Jenner! Look at them! They're terrified! You can't take their choices away from them! Like-"

"Like what?" Jenner asked coolly when Lucy stopped talking, tears falling down her cheeks.

"Like you did to me!" Lucy retorted, whipping away tears from her eyes angrily. "For months I have been stuck underground not allowed to do anything! You treat me like a china doll when I used to be the one at the very front when there was a new dangerous experiment to do!"

"Because I can't lose you too!" Jenner roared, suddenly losing his composure. "I had to sit and watch as my wife became one of those _things _just so we could learn what happens when we get infected! Then I had to shoot her in the head! I had to kill my own wife Lucy!"

"She was my best friend too! But that's not the point! She did that so that we could be free one day again Jenner! So that we could fix everyone! Not kill off innocent strangers because it's less painful!" Lucy shrieked, clawing at Jenner's arms. "These people deserve to fight to live! Just let them go and let it just be us who dies!"

"No because you plan to go with them!" Jenner shouted, making Lucy freeze. "You think I didn't see you kissing _him _earlier?!"

Jenner jerked his thumb towards Daryl, who just glared from where he was stood, while everyone else stared between him and Lucy with shock.

"My office overlooks this room! And I heard you last night! Your door was shut and music off when I walked past so I stopped and was just about to knock when I heard your conversation! I heard you tell your lover over there that you wanted to leave with him and his group when they left and that you would sneak out with them! I can't let you do that! I can't have you out there getting hurt and turned into one of those walkers!" Jenner exclaimed, eyes bright with madness.

"She can do as she damn well pleases!" Daryl told Jenner gruffly, pulling Lucy into a hug from behind. "She's not owned by you! She's fuckin' 21 you bastard!"

"If I promise to stay here with you, will you let them go?" Lucy asked quietly, ignoring Daryl's squeeze of shock and his intake of breath.

"How do I know you won't break it?" Jenner asked cautiously, mouth pulled into a frown.

Lucy turned to Rick and snatched his handcuffs from his belt, making him yelp, before turning back round to Jenner and handcuffing herself to him. She put the key in his free hand before stating, "I can't escape now. You have the key. Let them go."

"B-but isn't this better for them?" Jenner asked, looking shocked. "To die this way?"

Lucy accidentally let a sob escape, the force of it racking her body, before she cupped Jenner's face in between her two hands.

"They deserve to live Jenner. Please just let them go." Lucy whispered, searching his eyes. "I'm not going anywhere now. You have me until the end. Please. I'm staying with you, brother. Just... Just let them live, Ed. They deserve to have a chance to live. Please... Just please Ed."

Jenner, shocked by the use of his first name, nodded numbly before pressing a button on the screen and stating, "I can let you out of here but you'll have to find your own way out of the building once you get topside. You have 5 minutes."

Jenner whispered something into Rick's ear before the doors opened and the group ran for the doors but Jacqui stopped them, telling them she was staying. Daryl paused too, glancing at Lucy desperately.

"No. Don't you dare Daryl." Lucy stated fiercely as Daryl returned to her side. "They need you. You need to keep Carl and Sophia safe. You need to find Merle."

"I can't leave you here..." Daryl whispered, sounding desperate and like a frightened little kid. Lucy felt another tear fall before she pulled Daryl down so she could kiss him once last time, tears falling rapidly. After a few seconds, she pushed him away forcefully.

"Go! I'll be fine! Just go!" She begged, glaring at him.

"But-"

"I don't want you here!" Lucy screeched, feeling her heart break at the sight of Daryl's hurt and broken expression before he turned and ran out the door. The rest of the group followed, glancing back sadly at Jacqui and Lucy. Andrea took a bit of convincing but finally she left with Dale.

Jacqui seemed calm as she stood on Jenner's other side, taking his hand and smiling, but Lucy pulled her hand away when Jenner tried to take the hand that was handcuffed to him. She watched the screen as Daryl used a chair to try and break the glass, ignoring her brother's stare and the tears falling from her eyes, then let out a sob of relief as the bomb they had broke the window.

"I hate you." Lucy informed her brother honestly as she watched Daryl lead the group towards their vehicles and away from the building.

"I know." Jenner admitted, looking at her sadly. "But this is the way it should be."

As Lucy stood and watched Daryl with her last remaining seconds, she summoned the strength that her lover seemed to always have and stood tall and proud. She didn't look at Jenner or Jacqui but instead stared at Daryl as she recalled the night before. She stared at his eyes as she remembered the way they had softened as he had slowly brought her over the edge and the way he had stared at her as they both came down off their high. She gazed at his cheekbones, recalling the way they had felt when she had kissed them while trying to kiss every part of his face as they lay in bed after making love and talking. She finally rested her eyes on his lips and it was like she could feel those chapped but perfect lips on her own lips, face and body again as Daryl Dixon worshipped her slowly and carefully.

It was these things that Lucy was thinking about, staring at the face of the man that she knew she could have loved one day, as the clock hit zero.


End file.
